1) A rheumatology update
Yesterday was my follow-up rheumatology appointment to go over my bloodwork and X-rays and talk about my treatment plan. When we last talked about all of this nonsense, I had just had my intake appointment, where the doctor confirmed I likely had psoriatic arthritis and wanted to do some blood tests to get a fuller picture of my health. She started me on a course of steroids (prednisone, starting at 24mg and tapering down to a daily dose of 10mg) to calm down all of my joint stiffness. While the original, higher dose of prednisone helped, eventually, my pain came back once I was on the 10mg for a few days (like, I felt like I did before taking prednisone), so now I’m on a different steroid (medrol, 8mg), which has relieved almost all my symptoms. (Still dealing with a flare in my left ring finger, but the pain/stiffness has decreased a lot.)
What the bloodwork showed is that my inflammation numbers were sky high, but I tested negative for rheumatoid arthritis and many of my other numbers (kidney function, white blood cell count, platelet count, etc.) were normal. I also had X-rays done to get a baseline assessment of my joints/bones, and both shoulders are showing signs of mild osteoarthritis (my right shoulder is a bit worse since that’s my dominant side). I’m still waiting on the results for the other X-rays (I got 12 done!).
My new treatment plan is to start a low dose of methotrexate and see how my body reacts. I’ll continue taking the Medrol for the time being, and we’ll discuss weaning off the steroid at my next follow-up in six weeks. Things are hap-hap-happening! It was a big appointment and my mind was spinning when I left the office, but mostly, I feel okay with everything. I’m glad I have a diagnosis after so many months of chronic pain and a solid treatment plan to get me on the road to wellness.
2) Other potential medical woes
A few other interesting things popped up in my bloodwork that I need to follow up with my PCP about. This was NOT THE DEAL, body! The deal was that I was going to accept having an autoimmune condition, get it under control with treatment, and then there would be NO MORE MEDICAL ISSUES.
Here’s what’s going on:
- High thyroid antibodies – Normal thyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibodies are typically under 34 IU/mL, and mine were at 116 IU/mL. This could indicate another autoimmune condition like Hashimoto’s disease, but I need to get further testing to see what the deal is. My thyroid levels were normal years ago, so if anything is developing, it would be new.
- High antiphospholipid antibodies – This would indicate some sort of clotting disorder, although I’ve never dealt with blood clots before. It’s possible that these antibodies were temporarily elevated due to the inflammation I was experiencing at the time of my blood test. I’ll get retested in a few months and hopefully they’ll be back to normal.
- Mild cardiomegaly – Both shoulder X-rays came back with a finding of mild cardiomegaly, aka enlarged heart. My rheumatologist wants me to follow up with my PCP for extra testing just to be on the safe side. Greeeeeat.
Honestly, I’m way more overwhelmed about these three potential conditions, even though the likelihood of any of them turning into full diagnoses may be low, than I was by my psoriatic arthritis diagnosis. Can’t my body just behave for one goddamn month?
3) An update on the feeder situation
Let’s talk about something other than my failing body, shall we? The girls are now successfully using their new microchip feeders. It was quite a process to get them used to these feeders (it took a few weeks) and sometimes Lila still goes up to Eloise’s feeder and is quite confused why the lid isn’t opening, but for the most part, they understand how to use them. I bought these feeders because I wanted to track how much the girls were eating since I have one skinny cat (not underweight, but she could stand to gain a pound or two) and one fluffy cat (she could stand to lose a few pounds). I was pretty certain that Lila wasn’t bullying Eloise out of her food (Eloise is the alpha in this relationship), but it’s just weird that they get the same amount of food and one cat is almost twice the size of the other!
After a little over a month using the feeders successfully, the data I’ve collected is this:
- Eloise is a bird eater who grazes throughout the day, eating a tiny bit every time, and doesn’t need to eat her full portion to be satisfied and energetic
- Lila is also a grazer but she eats larger portions (she’s at the feeder for 2-3 minutes at a time while Eloise is at the feeder for less than a minute), but still is not eating her full portion
It’s a very weird situation to have cats who do not scream at me for food every morning. They don’t even eat all of their wet food at one time! They graze on it throughout the morning.
The good news is, Lila is not overeating so she’s either just naturally a fluffier gal or has some sort of medical condition that I refuse to think about. She goes to the vet next month and I’ll have them do some bloodwork to make sure there isn’t any underlying condition to be worried about.
4) Olympics!
It’s Winter Olympics time! I have been enjoying all of the coverage, especially figure skating and snowboarding. The downhill skiing is also fun but makes me really anxious to see how fast these skiiers are going. How do parents handle their kids being in sports like these?! I would be a wreck. I find myself getting teary at times when I watch the figure skaters and the sheer elation on their faces when they nail a routine. Imagine working so goddamn hard for so long and finally getting to the friggin Olympics and you have one of your best performances? That’s an emotion that needs to be bottled up.
5) Weekend plans
I have a three-day weekend, thanks to President’s Day! Woop! Tonight, my mom, Bri, and I are having a little Galentine’s date. We’re going to see & Juliet at the Straz, and I am very much looking forward to it! And then the rest of my weekend is pretty low-key, as my only plan is a writing date with Mikaela on Saturday morning. I would like to visit a thrift shop this weekend, and maybe do a Home Goods/TJ Maxx run. I’ve decided that I must have an end table in my living room or I will die, but I have very specific parameters of the type/size of end table I want. We’ll see if I can find something that works!
What are your weekend plans? Are you watching the Olympics?
First things first! So, ruling out rheumatoid arthritis makes the psoriatic arthritis diagnosis more definite? AND- I get my blood tested every six months since I take a thyroid med. Every once in a while something extremely weird pops up, some level elevated for no apparent reason, and I just get it retested after a while and everything is fine. So- sometimes these results don’t really mean anything. Don’t worry about it for now. Just focus on getting the PA under control and everything else will most likely even out.
Yes- the downhill skiing. It’s thrilling and extremely anxiety provoking! Just the other night my husband said “can you imagine if this were your son?” GAH.
I have a theory that some cats are just fat. I really don’t feel like Muffin eats more than the others, plus she’s been much more active since we got Foxy. But she’s still… ahem, “fluffy” (I’m going to use that term even though she has short hair!) My family wants me to put her on a diet, but ugh. I don’t want to.
Enjoy your weekend! It sounds fun.
Yes, the rheum confirmed it is psoriatic arthritis. I realize I didn’t say that in the post, but yup!
I’m trying not to worry too much about the other stuff, especially since my inflammation levels were so high, it’s bound to affect other things! The enlarged heart makes me a little nervous, but hopefully it was just a weird angle on the shoulder X-ray.
I also have Hashimotos. When you have one autoimmune condition, you tend to have multiple. I also probably have Celiac but the blood test wasn’t positive and I didn’t want to get a scope done so I just assume I have Celiac. The marker they follow (TSH) for Hashimotos was higher when I was trying to get pregnant and pregnant but it’s been “sub clinical” since which means I don’t need to be on a med for it. Hurrah! I hope that continues to be the case. I’m glad you are getting a through work up, though! Sheesh. There’s just not end in sight to all these issues it seems. But I hope your PsA calms down soon now that you are starting MTX. The worst thing about the treatment plans is that it takes 8-12 weeks to know if it’s helping. I won’t be surprised if you end up on something like Enbrel. That’s kind of the gold standard for our type of disease but you have to prove that cheaper stuff (MTX) doesn’t work before insurance will cover the super expensive injections ($1K/week!!). I’m sending you all the good vibes and I am always here to chat if you have questions!
I have barely watched the Olympics! Last weekend was a busy weekend with my party and then I was traveling this week and didn’t have the tv on much. I look forward to when the Olympics is in SLC again because it’s kind of a drag to be in such a different time zone!
We don’t have much planned this weekend. Paul has golf tomorrow morning and then both boys have tennis in the afternoon. Taco has a birthday party Sunday morning. They are off school on Monday and Tuesday, but I have to work on Tuesday so I hired a teen on our block to come over for 4 hours so I can have at least 4 hours of focused work. On Monday I will probably take them to the zoo as it’s supposed to be a nice day (well, nice for us Minnesotans!). Some baby penguins were born so we are excited to see them!
Thanks, friend! I’m trying not to overwhelm you with all my questions/thoughts, ha. There’s a lot happening! But at least we’re on the treatment path and can start figuring out what will work for me.
I’ll be honest and say I haven’t watched a TON of Olympics coverage either. Mostly just trying to catch the primetime coverage when I can. I get easily overwhelmed by all the different sports and options!
Oh crikey, what is WITH all the health issues? That is just too much, Stephany. I hope Jenny is right and that sometimes things are elevated for no reason. If you have high levels of inflammation, perhaps that affects other bloodwork? I mean, I am not a medical professional, but I’m going to hope that’s maybe the case. I know I have had super elevated white blood counts in the past, which indicates things like CANCER, but then everything is normal and tests are fine. One appointment, I had enlarged blood cells, which – is that a thing? Apparently. But then everything was normal again. So maybe it’s something strange like that. Although I will say thyroid issues are very easily controlled with medication if there is indeed a thyroid issue. Yikes. Good luck, friend. xo
I’m really hoping that the first two elevated levels were due to my high inflammation markers. I really don’t have the mental wherewithal to deal with TWO MORE CONDITIONS on top of everything else. The third is a little concerning, but I’m just going to believe it was a weird angle on the X-ray and nothing to worry about!
Woof, the health problems! I am so sorry that you are going through all of that, and I really hope that you get some clarity soon so you can start working on tackling it rather than finding it. For me, even if the news is not great, I am in the “know” rather than “not know” camp. However, I think the pain of figuring it out can be exhausting.
I was on a downhill ski team when I was a kid. It was so fun, but even as the skier, I sometimes felt like I was going too fast! I actually love going fast and still do it to this day; that is part of the joy of skiing! Kids are going to drive cars, which is much more dangerous than skiing, so I think as a parent you just have to get used to that kind of thing!
Oh yes, I would much rather have the information so I can make a plan! I’m going to do my due diligence to make sure these elevated numbers aren’t anything to worry about, but blergh. I am so tired of tests and doctor’s appointments.
Oh, that is just too much, dear girl. I’m so sorry you’re having to deal with all these health issues, and I’m sure the added stress isn’t doing your PA any favors. I’m sending you good, healing thoughts. I hope you have a lovely three-day weekend and that you find the perfect end table of your dreams!
Thank you so much, friend! It’s all slightly alarming, but I’m just going to do my due diligence to figure out what may be causing these oddities and cross my fingers it’s no big deal!
Ugh, no. I am so sorry about new potential health issues. I agree that it’s really enough now and I do hope it all turns out to be nothing. Like others said, sometimes it’s that just random markers are elevated for no reason and then go back to normal. Fingers crossed. I am glad that you’re having a diagnosis though. It’s easier to handle if you know what you’re dealing with.
Jon and I watched the Olympics last weekend and we caught the women’s giant slalom race and he asked me if I could go that fast … and I laughed HYSTERICALLY. I am pretty much convinced that I have never had a skiing injury (knock on wood!) exactly because I AM NOT going fast. Haha. (It’s fun to watch though. And what about the dual moguls??).
I am so glad you have a diagnosis and follow-up appointment too. I will keep saying it but FINALLY!!!!! I hope the other three issues turn out to be NON issues!!!
I am happy to hear the girls got used to their feeders! Sometimes cats just have bigger bodies… like humans! Right? I hope that’s all it is! Our cats stopped screaming at us in the am when we got them feeders too. It’s so nice. Although Starbuck is a little princess and wants her food separated (we have two feeders total for all four of them (one has three spouts and the other is Ned’s)) so she won’t eat if we aren’t there to move it 🙃
I’m so sorry about the ongoing health issues. As you know, I can relate. I hope that the 3 new random things are just “incidentalomas” (things that pop up only because of testing for other things) and are not truly new challenges for you. I am so glad you have a responsive and helpful rheumatologist. Finding good providers who *listen* is so important. Thinking of you. <3
I’m so sorry to hear that you’re dealing with so many health concerns. It can be so scary to begin with, and then to feel like the blows just keep coming… sending you good vibes and hoping for the best outcomes on all fronts!